Conversation

T: putting down the phone She just called me Chicken lickin’

Me: Who did?

T: J, she just called me Chicken Lickin’

Me: That’s because she’s mental and a bit weird.

T: What the fuck does chicken lickin’ mean?

Me: Oh my aunty used to call me that, it’s that story, you know, an acorn fell on his head and he thought the sky was falling so he went to tell the king and blah blah blah

T: Oh yeah! I’d forgotten about Chicken Lickin’, I used to read it to my little sister,

K: joining in I hated the end

Me: Eh?

K: You know, when he gets eaten

T: Yeah, that’s sad

Me: Sorry what? Chicken Lickin’ gets what now?

T and K: Eaten

Me: Uh, no he doesn’t.

K: Yeah he does.

Me: No, he tells his friends and then they explain about gravity and they tell him that, see, the sky is in fact, not falling, and he goes home feeling much better about the situation.

K and T: laughing No! He gets eaten!

K: He finds Henny Penny and Goosy Lucy and Cock Lock (and ha ha to that by the way), and they go to tell the king that the sky is falling but they come to a river and Foxy Loxy has to help them, so they get on his back but the river is rising so they get on his nose and the river is still getting deep, so they get in his mouth and he eats them!

B: shouting from an ajoining office No! That’s the ginger bread man!

Me: See! He doesn’t get eaten! It’s a clever story that teaches us about gravity!

B: No, he does get eaten, just not like that, I think Foxy Loxy tricks them into going back to his house or something and…

Me: Well, that’s not right, Foxy Loxy never had a house.

K: Ok, so Foxy Loxy doesn’t have a house, but he does know enough to teach Chicken Lickin’ about gravity, is that what you’re saying?

Me: I don’t know what I’m saying anymore, I do know that I have to have a conversation with my Aunt though, if you’re all so sure that it’s a brutal tale of Chicken slaughter and not an educational science story about gravity, then I think she may have twisted the ending somewhere along the line...

K: Definitely, my daughter loves the bit where Chicken Lickin’ gets eaten, I taught her to make snapping noises when he gets gobbled up.

Me: And your daughter is how old?

K: 18 months.

Me: You’re a terrible mother.

K: I know.